She said the Congress scion taught her son to adopt a ‘never quit’ attitude.

The mother of 2012 Delhi gangrape victim thanked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for motivating her son to become a pilot, Mail Today reported on Thursday. Six men had raped and brutally assaulted a 23-year-old student in Delhi in December 2012. The woman had succumbed to her injuries on December 29 the same year at a hospital in Singapore.

“My son is a pilot now because of Rahul Gandhi,” the mother told the daily. “Rahul Gandhi was the one who counselled him and motivated him to achieve something good in life to support the family.” The mother said Gandhi sponsored her son’s education and called him frequently to motivate him.

“Rahul used to talk to him over the phone and taught him to adopt a ‘never quit’ attitude.” She said Rahul Gandhi’s sister, Priyanka, also called and inquired about the family’s well-being.

The attack shook the country and saw mass protests in several cities and towns. One of the rapists was a juvenile.

On May 5, the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence for all four convicts. The minor accused was released in December 2015 after serving three years in a detention home while another convict died in prison.